Editorial | Following safety rules at workplaces is the responsibility of all
Hong Kong must adopt a culture that has zero tolerance for anyone, in any job being put in danger
The saying “one accident is one too many” has never been more apt as Hong Kong recorded six workplace fatalities in recent weeks.
The accidents have prompted calls for a more holistic review of the city’s regulations and compliance mechanisms in pursuit of an overriding work safety culture among all stakeholders, and rightly so.
The city’s work safety record was thrust into the spotlight again after two workers died on Friday. An 18-year-old was carrying out maintenance on an escalator when he fell into the machinery under one of the landings at a building in Central.
The second case involved a 57-year-old labourer who was crushed into the ceiling by a malfunctioning raised platform in Tung Chung.
The accidents have added to a disturbing list of cases that shames Hong Kong as a world city. Earlier, a 41-year-old man was crushed by a falling cage lift at a residential project in Sha Tin.
Preliminary investigations showed the machine malfunctioned before it fell, trapping the man on the ground while he was transporting materials.
Separately, a 37-year-old airport construction worker fell to his death after he reportedly lost his footing on the sixth floor of the T2 concourse. This came after another fatal incident in which a man fell from a building while dismantling bamboo scaffolding in To Kwa Wan.
